Monday saw me back on the crutches as the calf muscle tore again, different part of the office but same but of my leg! Couldn't phone Sonia as my mobile had decided to stop working and was planning to call in to the shop on the way home, but had to drive straight home to pick up the crutches. Frustrating that had managed a week without them and done a careful 1 hour gym session on the Sunday morning. Finally got to the Orange shop on the way home last night where they confirmed that the phone was "bricked", so had to buy a new one - went for Samsung Galaxy Ace 2. Spent most of last night and this evening working out how to use the apps, and downloaded a few new ones including instagram...Here's the first pic...
http://instagr.am/p/PNH8ljrJOX/
Have typed this on the phone and am now off to read the 160 page manual I've downloaded.
At least all my contacts were backed up.
Wednesday 5 September 2012
One of those days...
Thursday 16 August 2012
Golden games and other outings
It's been an amazing few weeks of Olympic spectaculars...and I managed to miss some of the highlight TV moments that "everyone will remember for the rest of their lives".
The "golden hour" when GB won 3 Gold medals on a Saturday night was heard on a crackly wind up AM radio while sat round a campfire just outside Stratford-upon-Avon, and Mo Farah winning his second Gold took place while we out for dinner for Mum's birthday. This is not the first time I've missed a major TV event because I've out for a family meal - I missed the SAS storming the Iranian Embassy in 1980 as it took place while I was having my 18th birthday dinner and first legal pint.
I did see the opening ceremony, staying up until the end. Really enjoyed the history lesson and the underlying sense of dislocation - the Queen jumping out of a helicopter with 007 - Mr Bean - giant chimneys - the steelworks forging the final ring to link the chain of the olympic symbol - Shakespeare - the NHS - having young athletes light the beautiful cauldron made up of many parts - team GB coming in to the arena to David Bowie's "heroes"...
The next morning we opened our Wedding Anniversary cards and then headed off to Chester Zoo. I had promised Sonia that she would see live elephants as my present to her. And she did. We had decided to treat ourselves to a break and dinner on the way home and stopped off for a meal and a night in the Stanley Arms, a remote pub in Macclesfield Forest on the edge of the Peak District. We had the Clough Room (nothing to do with Brian) which was across the yard from the pub/restaurant that served Marston's Pedigree.
The following weekend saw us camping with the "library lot" at Dodwell campsite, just outside Stratford. Recipe for a great weekend:
Hanging out the tent was difficult due to my tearing my calf muscle on the Tuesday - a very painful but odd experience...after a weekend of walking the dog and entertaining the kids it was the simple act of walking in the office that saw me taken by ambulance to the QMC ED. I was heading out at lunchtime as I was going to walk into West Bridgford and had made it as far as the landing outside my office when I felt an odd sensation in my right calf - imagine an elastic band twanging inside your leg - and had trouble walking. I hobbled back into the office and a first aider was called. She said she had nothing in her big green box for me and called for an ambulance in case it was a ruptured achilles tendon (plus I was looking a bit pale). The First Responder quickly diagnosed torn calf muscle, gave me "gas and air" for the pain, and called for an ambulance to transport me to the QMC. A shot of tramadol helped get me down from the 3rd floor and into the ambulance. As I wasn't a "blue light" job I was transported by a St John's Ambulance crew from Grantham who needed their sat-nav to find the QMC and then weren't quite sure where to take me once we got there - but I didn't mind because I still had my "gas and air" cylinder. It didn't seem long for me to be seen and assessed by a physio who confirmed a torn muscle rather than the dreaded achilles. I was given an explanation of what was wrong and what I needed to do and luckily they had a leaflet as the "gas and air" and tramadol were making concentration difficult. A nurse helped me fit for crutches and even tied my shoe lace for me before I was given a packet of dihydrocodiene pain killers and discharged with an open appointment for physiotherapy at the City hospital clinic. Sonia had made it down from her job at Kings Mill hospital and picked me up in her Smart car. I spent the next couple of days with my leg up, applying ice packs, taking pain killers and watching the Olympics, and thanking the guys from work who drove my car home.
The drive over to Norfolk for Mum's birthday meal on Saturday was in the Smart car as Sonia had to drive, which meant I could enjoy the view as we crossed the fens. The leg is getting better and I was able to drive to work on Monday and Tuesday but have spent the last 2 days working from home on reports etc as it's less hassle and I can sit around in my shorts, but I'll probably be have to go in tomorrow to do some printing...
The "golden hour" when GB won 3 Gold medals on a Saturday night was heard on a crackly wind up AM radio while sat round a campfire just outside Stratford-upon-Avon, and Mo Farah winning his second Gold took place while we out for dinner for Mum's birthday. This is not the first time I've missed a major TV event because I've out for a family meal - I missed the SAS storming the Iranian Embassy in 1980 as it took place while I was having my 18th birthday dinner and first legal pint.
I did see the opening ceremony, staying up until the end. Really enjoyed the history lesson and the underlying sense of dislocation - the Queen jumping out of a helicopter with 007 - Mr Bean - giant chimneys - the steelworks forging the final ring to link the chain of the olympic symbol - Shakespeare - the NHS - having young athletes light the beautiful cauldron made up of many parts - team GB coming in to the arena to David Bowie's "heroes"...
The next morning we opened our Wedding Anniversary cards and then headed off to Chester Zoo. I had promised Sonia that she would see live elephants as my present to her. And she did. We had decided to treat ourselves to a break and dinner on the way home and stopped off for a meal and a night in the Stanley Arms, a remote pub in Macclesfield Forest on the edge of the Peak District. We had the Clough Room (nothing to do with Brian) which was across the yard from the pub/restaurant that served Marston's Pedigree.
The following weekend saw us camping with the "library lot" at Dodwell campsite, just outside Stratford. Recipe for a great weekend:
- Take 10 adults, 5 kids and a labrador.
- Place in 5 tents and a gazebo.
- Combine with decent facilities, a lot of wine and access to a charcoal burner for warmth in the evenings.
- Add in very occasional rain, a few claps of thunder and a brief hailstone shower to build a common sense of adversity.
- Top off with an afternoon expedition to Stratford along the banks of the Avon with the dog spotting buzzards and a heron on the way to a pub lunch
Hanging out the tent was difficult due to my tearing my calf muscle on the Tuesday - a very painful but odd experience...after a weekend of walking the dog and entertaining the kids it was the simple act of walking in the office that saw me taken by ambulance to the QMC ED. I was heading out at lunchtime as I was going to walk into West Bridgford and had made it as far as the landing outside my office when I felt an odd sensation in my right calf - imagine an elastic band twanging inside your leg - and had trouble walking. I hobbled back into the office and a first aider was called. She said she had nothing in her big green box for me and called for an ambulance in case it was a ruptured achilles tendon (plus I was looking a bit pale). The First Responder quickly diagnosed torn calf muscle, gave me "gas and air" for the pain, and called for an ambulance to transport me to the QMC. A shot of tramadol helped get me down from the 3rd floor and into the ambulance. As I wasn't a "blue light" job I was transported by a St John's Ambulance crew from Grantham who needed their sat-nav to find the QMC and then weren't quite sure where to take me once we got there - but I didn't mind because I still had my "gas and air" cylinder. It didn't seem long for me to be seen and assessed by a physio who confirmed a torn muscle rather than the dreaded achilles. I was given an explanation of what was wrong and what I needed to do and luckily they had a leaflet as the "gas and air" and tramadol were making concentration difficult. A nurse helped me fit for crutches and even tied my shoe lace for me before I was given a packet of dihydrocodiene pain killers and discharged with an open appointment for physiotherapy at the City hospital clinic. Sonia had made it down from her job at Kings Mill hospital and picked me up in her Smart car. I spent the next couple of days with my leg up, applying ice packs, taking pain killers and watching the Olympics, and thanking the guys from work who drove my car home.
The drive over to Norfolk for Mum's birthday meal on Saturday was in the Smart car as Sonia had to drive, which meant I could enjoy the view as we crossed the fens. The leg is getting better and I was able to drive to work on Monday and Tuesday but have spent the last 2 days working from home on reports etc as it's less hassle and I can sit around in my shorts, but I'll probably be have to go in tomorrow to do some printing...
Saturday 7 July 2012
So what happened to June?
June's been a busy month and I haven't got round to posting anything. Very remiss of me. A quick recap (reading my facebook and twitter posts) suggests that I watched the Jubilee boat pageant (a very wet weekend on the Thames for some) and watched a lot of Euro 2012 football.
In between all that lounging around on the sofa, I did manage to take some photos of a Circumzenithal Arc on 10th June. Apparently these are very rare, but we were sat in the garden when Sonia looked up and spotted it. I grabbed the camera and took some pics. Here's the best one...
And on 16th June we went over to Leicester to meet our niece Lilly Gill. Who was a quiet little bundle considering she was only a few weeks old and was being passed around to aunts, uncles, her sister Molly and her cousin Lauren.
We were with my nephew Edward when he got his degree result, a 2:2 in English and Creative Writing, so he should have no trouble filling in job application forms...
We also managed some book shopping to prepare for our holiday in Edinburgh. I bought the new Ben Aaronovitch novel "Whispers Underground", and the new Christopher Brookmyer "When The Devil Drives" featuring the private detective Jasmine Sharp who I first encountered in his previous book "Where The Bodies Are Buried". So that's humorous wizardry in the Met police and "tartan noir" for my relaxing holiday reading...I am waiting for the publication of the new Jasper Fforde "The Woman Who Died A Lot" (aka TN7) which is due out on 12th July.
So that was most of June. We headed off to Edinburgh at the end of the month, and I'll write that up as a holiday blog as usual, once I've processed the 859 photos...
In between all that lounging around on the sofa, I did manage to take some photos of a Circumzenithal Arc on 10th June. Apparently these are very rare, but we were sat in the garden when Sonia looked up and spotted it. I grabbed the camera and took some pics. Here's the best one...
And on 16th June we went over to Leicester to meet our niece Lilly Gill. Who was a quiet little bundle considering she was only a few weeks old and was being passed around to aunts, uncles, her sister Molly and her cousin Lauren.
We were with my nephew Edward when he got his degree result, a 2:2 in English and Creative Writing, so he should have no trouble filling in job application forms...
We also managed some book shopping to prepare for our holiday in Edinburgh. I bought the new Ben Aaronovitch novel "Whispers Underground", and the new Christopher Brookmyer "When The Devil Drives" featuring the private detective Jasmine Sharp who I first encountered in his previous book "Where The Bodies Are Buried". So that's humorous wizardry in the Met police and "tartan noir" for my relaxing holiday reading...I am waiting for the publication of the new Jasper Fforde "The Woman Who Died A Lot" (aka TN7) which is due out on 12th July.
So that was most of June. We headed off to Edinburgh at the end of the month, and I'll write that up as a holiday blog as usual, once I've processed the 859 photos...
Sunday 3 June 2012
hot hot hot (and then not)
The past couple of weeks have seen the temperature see-saw from very hot (for the UK in May) to the decidedly average.
The first week started with the car park at work being handed over to the TV crew who handle the coverage of the Test Match, so I was having to park at County Hall and walk over to Trent Bridge House. This was pleasant in the mornings and was something of a relief in the afternoons after a day spent in the glass sided sealed box that serves as the office. At one point we had 12 fans going, but all they did was move the humid hot air around the box we were sat in. Temperatures reached 30C by mid afternoon on a couple of days. Unfortunately, there's no windows to open and the air handling system was off because of refurbishment work up on floors 8 and 9, so floor 3 was a sauna. Working from home on Friday meant that I was not caught up in the Test Match crowds and I could have windows open to provide a breeze while I drafted flow charts for asbestos management processes.
The weekend was a relaxed affair. On Saturday we went into town and mooched around in the sunshine, visiting the stalls in the Market Place (where Sonia found a sunhat that fitted her) and Waterstones bookshop. We also bought some presents for Jane and Lauren's forthcoming birthdays before heading over the Browns Restaurant for lunch. It was like being on holiday, sat in my shorts on a terrace under an parasol eating olives and salads while sipping drinks. We eventually headed home and spent a relaxing time sat in the garden. I must confess we did watch most of the Eurovision song contest that evening. I did notice that some countries were trying harder than others not to win to avoid the cost of putting on next years "competition". Ireland's choice of Jedward was inspired, I believe, by the Father Ted "My Lovely Horse" episode.
Sunday was just as warm and we went out to lunch in West Bridgford to celebrate Jane's birthday with a carvery lunch The West End. We decided to travel by bus rather than try to park in West Bridgford while there was a test match on, and with some places charging £10 it was a good move. The bus got us to Central Avenue by 12 and, as we were not due to meet up until 1230, we popped into the Stratford Haven for a cooling half (just to get out of the sun, honest). The meal was good (beef, lamb and pork for me) and it was great to chat to David, Jane and Lauren. We caught the bus home, stopping off in the Poacher for another cooling drink and to see if any friends were about. As they weren't we went home to relax.
The second week started with the final day of the Test Match which saw England (428 & 111-1) beat the West Indies (370 & 165) by nine wickets. Finishing the match a day early meant we got the car park back on Thursday rather than the Friday we had been told to expect. The temperature was almost as high as the previous week, the office thermometers agreeing on about 28C but as we all started to think about the forthcoming Jubilee Bank Holiday 4 day weekend, the temperature started to drop over the course of the week and the weather forecasters mentioned the possibility of rain.
I was lucky enough to have a training course booked at Rufford Mill on the Tuesday so I was able to avoid the sauna for one day, and for once I learnt something new on a Management course. Previous Management training courses with the County Council have covered issues that I dealt with in a daily basis over the 20+ years I was a Unison steward, convenor and branch officer. It looks like I am now getting to the stage where the rules are starting to change from those I helped negotiate. Whilst it meant that the training course was interesting (the chance to find out new things is always stimulating), it reminded me how long I have been "out of the game".
Sonia and I had booked the Friday off before the Bank Holiday but I was still up as usual because the car had to go in for its 1 year service despite having under 2000 miles on the clock. This keeps up the warrantee and the RAC membership that the Co-Op Nissan dealership provided when I bought the car. While sat waiting for the garage to do their thing, Sonia had done the shopping and the washing up, and had arranged for us to go out for the day to Rufford Country Park with Helen, her two children Rosa and Alex, and Chris a friend who has retired from the Library service to become a "lady of leisure". Although the day was overcast, it wasn't too cold and keeping the kids entertained kept us warm. A lot of fun was had watching cars go through the ford by Rufford Mill and I spent some time "supervising" the kids while Helen was able to have a sit down "grown ups" chat with Sonia and Chris without constantly having to check on the children. Here's some pics of the splashes...
Friday night saw the arrival of the latest member of the Gill clan. Lilly Margaret Gill was born at 21:43 weighing in at 6.5lbs in Leicester. Sonia's brother Stephen (the proud father) rang to let us know that Jodie and Lilly were fine. He's going to have his hands full in the years ahead being the father of two daughters.
Saturday was overcast as well so we drove out to Hollybeck Nurseries at Oxton to pick up a few plants, to get some ideas about replacing the lawn with veg beds, and to look for some finials to stop the pigeons landing on the trellis posts. On the way home we dropped in to Brookfields Garden Centre and bought a caged bird feeder to see if that would stop the squirrel and pigeons emptying the large bird feeder and give the sparrows, finches and tits a chance. After lunch we then visited B&Q and Homebase to see if they could provide any finial inspiration but without any luck.
It's Sunday morning of a Bank Holiday weekend, and the weather forecasters were right...the rain has arrived so it will probably be an "indoors" day. There's a joint of beef to roast, some programmes on the TiVo, and a boat pageant on the Thames to watch on TV. Let's hope the weather dries up for the "tea party" at Martin and Nic's tomorrow afternoon.
The first week started with the car park at work being handed over to the TV crew who handle the coverage of the Test Match, so I was having to park at County Hall and walk over to Trent Bridge House. This was pleasant in the mornings and was something of a relief in the afternoons after a day spent in the glass sided sealed box that serves as the office. At one point we had 12 fans going, but all they did was move the humid hot air around the box we were sat in. Temperatures reached 30C by mid afternoon on a couple of days. Unfortunately, there's no windows to open and the air handling system was off because of refurbishment work up on floors 8 and 9, so floor 3 was a sauna. Working from home on Friday meant that I was not caught up in the Test Match crowds and I could have windows open to provide a breeze while I drafted flow charts for asbestos management processes.
The weekend was a relaxed affair. On Saturday we went into town and mooched around in the sunshine, visiting the stalls in the Market Place (where Sonia found a sunhat that fitted her) and Waterstones bookshop. We also bought some presents for Jane and Lauren's forthcoming birthdays before heading over the Browns Restaurant for lunch. It was like being on holiday, sat in my shorts on a terrace under an parasol eating olives and salads while sipping drinks. We eventually headed home and spent a relaxing time sat in the garden. I must confess we did watch most of the Eurovision song contest that evening. I did notice that some countries were trying harder than others not to win to avoid the cost of putting on next years "competition". Ireland's choice of Jedward was inspired, I believe, by the Father Ted "My Lovely Horse" episode.
Sunday was just as warm and we went out to lunch in West Bridgford to celebrate Jane's birthday with a carvery lunch The West End. We decided to travel by bus rather than try to park in West Bridgford while there was a test match on, and with some places charging £10 it was a good move. The bus got us to Central Avenue by 12 and, as we were not due to meet up until 1230, we popped into the Stratford Haven for a cooling half (just to get out of the sun, honest). The meal was good (beef, lamb and pork for me) and it was great to chat to David, Jane and Lauren. We caught the bus home, stopping off in the Poacher for another cooling drink and to see if any friends were about. As they weren't we went home to relax.
The second week started with the final day of the Test Match which saw England (428 & 111-1) beat the West Indies (370 & 165) by nine wickets. Finishing the match a day early meant we got the car park back on Thursday rather than the Friday we had been told to expect. The temperature was almost as high as the previous week, the office thermometers agreeing on about 28C but as we all started to think about the forthcoming Jubilee Bank Holiday 4 day weekend, the temperature started to drop over the course of the week and the weather forecasters mentioned the possibility of rain.
I was lucky enough to have a training course booked at Rufford Mill on the Tuesday so I was able to avoid the sauna for one day, and for once I learnt something new on a Management course. Previous Management training courses with the County Council have covered issues that I dealt with in a daily basis over the 20+ years I was a Unison steward, convenor and branch officer. It looks like I am now getting to the stage where the rules are starting to change from those I helped negotiate. Whilst it meant that the training course was interesting (the chance to find out new things is always stimulating), it reminded me how long I have been "out of the game".
Sonia and I had booked the Friday off before the Bank Holiday but I was still up as usual because the car had to go in for its 1 year service despite having under 2000 miles on the clock. This keeps up the warrantee and the RAC membership that the Co-Op Nissan dealership provided when I bought the car. While sat waiting for the garage to do their thing, Sonia had done the shopping and the washing up, and had arranged for us to go out for the day to Rufford Country Park with Helen, her two children Rosa and Alex, and Chris a friend who has retired from the Library service to become a "lady of leisure". Although the day was overcast, it wasn't too cold and keeping the kids entertained kept us warm. A lot of fun was had watching cars go through the ford by Rufford Mill and I spent some time "supervising" the kids while Helen was able to have a sit down "grown ups" chat with Sonia and Chris without constantly having to check on the children. Here's some pics of the splashes...
Friday night saw the arrival of the latest member of the Gill clan. Lilly Margaret Gill was born at 21:43 weighing in at 6.5lbs in Leicester. Sonia's brother Stephen (the proud father) rang to let us know that Jodie and Lilly were fine. He's going to have his hands full in the years ahead being the father of two daughters.
Saturday was overcast as well so we drove out to Hollybeck Nurseries at Oxton to pick up a few plants, to get some ideas about replacing the lawn with veg beds, and to look for some finials to stop the pigeons landing on the trellis posts. On the way home we dropped in to Brookfields Garden Centre and bought a caged bird feeder to see if that would stop the squirrel and pigeons emptying the large bird feeder and give the sparrows, finches and tits a chance. After lunch we then visited B&Q and Homebase to see if they could provide any finial inspiration but without any luck.
It's Sunday morning of a Bank Holiday weekend, and the weather forecasters were right...the rain has arrived so it will probably be an "indoors" day. There's a joint of beef to roast, some programmes on the TiVo, and a boat pageant on the Thames to watch on TV. Let's hope the weather dries up for the "tea party" at Martin and Nic's tomorrow afternoon.
Sunday 20 May 2012
Two contrasting weekends
The first couple of weekends of being 50 have been quite a contrast.
Last weekend was spent with friends celebrating Chris' 60th birthday in the traditional manner...lunch at Yiannis in Sherwood followed by a bit of drinking and then some more drinking...Sonia headed home after the cake and drinks at Maggie and Mike's that followed the wine at the restaurant, whereas I joined the cavalcade to catch a bus down to the Lincolnshire Poacher for the traditional "pub conversation and debate". I have little memory of how I got home but Sonia says I had enjoyed myself. The Sunday was spent processing the photos of the day.
This weekend started with our watching the Olympic flame land in Cornwall live on the BBC news channel, watching some TV, and my testing the bottle of rioja someone bought me for my birthday. Whoever got it, you chose well, and I enjoyed a couple of glasses.
Saturday was supposed to be my birthday treat from Sonia - a helicopter flight over Nottingham from East Midland Helicopters so I could take a lot of photos. Unfortunately the weather was against us and the company had to ring up and cancel about an hour beforehand. They had cancelled all flights yesterday due to the rain and low cloud. We are now booked on the next Nottingham flight on 18th August, let's hope the weather is better.
We had planned to have lunch in a village pub somewhere near Costock after the flight. We decided to have a trip out for lunch anyway, to make up for the postponed flight. We ended up at the Crown Inn in Old Dalby. Sonia vaguely remembered that there was a nice pub in the village from one of her "library outings", back in the days when County Council staff got an extra Tuesday after certain Bank Holiday Mondays. It took some finding but it was worth the tour of the village. Orange juice for me as the driver, a very nice pinot grigio for Sonia, and a couple of bistro style courses each. The food was great, my "roast loin of pork with bubble & squeak, and stilton cream" was well prepared and presented. The pork was tender, the bubble and squeak was tasty and stilton cream was not over powering. Sonia went for the "pan fried chicken breast with mashed potatoes, bacon & silver skin onion jus" and said that the small pickled onions went well with the beautifully cooked chicken breast. She struggled to finish the main course but had left a dessert shaped hole in the stomach that was filled by a "chocolate brownie with chocolate ice cream". Her plate was very clean afterwards. My "plum & rhubarb crumble with crème anglaise" was the right balance of tart and sweet, soft and crunch, and disappeared far too quickly. A peppermint tea for Sonia and freshly ground coffee for me rounded off the meal and the bill came in at just under £30. I think it was worth it.
A steady drive home, stopping off at Six Acres garden centre to check out their cafe and pick up some treats from the deli, was followed by a gentle collapse onto the sofa to watch Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows on filmflex while I finished the rest of the bottle of rioja. We then spent some more "quality time with the sofa" while we watched the week's backlog of missed TV.
This Sunday has been spent refelting the shed, swearing after hitting my thumb with the hammer putting up some trellis netting on a fence, and writing up this blog post. A somewhat more "grown up" and sedate weekend than the previous. Who knows what future weekends will bring?
Last weekend was spent with friends celebrating Chris' 60th birthday in the traditional manner...lunch at Yiannis in Sherwood followed by a bit of drinking and then some more drinking...Sonia headed home after the cake and drinks at Maggie and Mike's that followed the wine at the restaurant, whereas I joined the cavalcade to catch a bus down to the Lincolnshire Poacher for the traditional "pub conversation and debate". I have little memory of how I got home but Sonia says I had enjoyed myself. The Sunday was spent processing the photos of the day.
This weekend started with our watching the Olympic flame land in Cornwall live on the BBC news channel, watching some TV, and my testing the bottle of rioja someone bought me for my birthday. Whoever got it, you chose well, and I enjoyed a couple of glasses.
Saturday was supposed to be my birthday treat from Sonia - a helicopter flight over Nottingham from East Midland Helicopters so I could take a lot of photos. Unfortunately the weather was against us and the company had to ring up and cancel about an hour beforehand. They had cancelled all flights yesterday due to the rain and low cloud. We are now booked on the next Nottingham flight on 18th August, let's hope the weather is better.
We had planned to have lunch in a village pub somewhere near Costock after the flight. We decided to have a trip out for lunch anyway, to make up for the postponed flight. We ended up at the Crown Inn in Old Dalby. Sonia vaguely remembered that there was a nice pub in the village from one of her "library outings", back in the days when County Council staff got an extra Tuesday after certain Bank Holiday Mondays. It took some finding but it was worth the tour of the village. Orange juice for me as the driver, a very nice pinot grigio for Sonia, and a couple of bistro style courses each. The food was great, my "roast loin of pork with bubble & squeak, and stilton cream" was well prepared and presented. The pork was tender, the bubble and squeak was tasty and stilton cream was not over powering. Sonia went for the "pan fried chicken breast with mashed potatoes, bacon & silver skin onion jus" and said that the small pickled onions went well with the beautifully cooked chicken breast. She struggled to finish the main course but had left a dessert shaped hole in the stomach that was filled by a "chocolate brownie with chocolate ice cream". Her plate was very clean afterwards. My "plum & rhubarb crumble with crème anglaise" was the right balance of tart and sweet, soft and crunch, and disappeared far too quickly. A peppermint tea for Sonia and freshly ground coffee for me rounded off the meal and the bill came in at just under £30. I think it was worth it.
A steady drive home, stopping off at Six Acres garden centre to check out their cafe and pick up some treats from the deli, was followed by a gentle collapse onto the sofa to watch Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows on filmflex while I finished the rest of the bottle of rioja. We then spent some more "quality time with the sofa" while we watched the week's backlog of missed TV.
This Sunday has been spent refelting the shed, swearing after hitting my thumb with the hammer putting up some trellis netting on a fence, and writing up this blog post. A somewhat more "grown up" and sedate weekend than the previous. Who knows what future weekends will bring?
Wednesday 9 May 2012
And so it begins...
I turned 50 on Saturday 5th May 2012. This was great planning by my mother and father back in 1961/62 - time the birth so the lad's party can take place on a bank holiday Saturday so everyone has a couple of days to recover...
Preparation began early, with little notices put into xmas cards warning people to keep 5th May clear in their diaries.
Being the sort of person I am, a "project plan" was drawn up and spreadsheet created to pull together all the decisions, costs and other info that might be needed. The outline was:
We eventually decided on the Polish Eagle Club, at the bottom of Sherwood Rise. This was the venue for a friend's birthday party in the autumn of 2011, it had real ale (and the barman promised me Pedigree), it was readily accessible and had two main areas we could use - the bar area for eating, drinking and chatting, and the adjacent hall with stage and dance floor.
The choice of band was easy - I wanted Sticky Morales if they were available - and they were! So we had "Nottingham's premier soul, funk groove machine" sorted.
The catering was straightforward as well, Sonia had used a local firm called Creative Flavours for her birthday a couple of years ago, as well as for some work functions so we knew that they were good quality and could cope with a mixture of vegetarians as well as those of us who eat properly.
The cake maker was a slightly harder choice as there were several available locally. We decided to go with Dinkydoodle Designs as she was local and could make me cake based on licourice allsorts.
My birthday started with a full house, Mum and Dad had arrived on Friday afternoon, and we had collected cousin Rowena (from Australia) from the bus station. We had been out to Mr Mans in Wollaton the night before as my belated treat for Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary. Sonia told me about my present from her as soon as I awoke...a helicopter flight over Nottingham! Wow!
A light breakfast of bacon and fried egg sandwich while I opened several cards. After that the day was a bit of a blur with a skype call to Mike and Denise in Australia, lunch, a bit of shopping at the Co-Op as we were running out of milk and various text messages. The cake (and cake pops) arrived just after lunch and they looked great.
At about 5.30pm Sonia and Dad dropped me off at the venue with the cake while they headed off to collect my aunt Heather from the train. I had my first pint of Pedigree of the evening while chatting to the bar staff and helping "organise" the setting out of the buffet and helped move a couple of bass bins for the band.
The party started at 7pm and the venue filled as family and friends arrived, some bearing gifts (ignoring the "no presents just your presence" request on the invitations) which mainly seemed to involve alcohol...I think that people are trying to tell me something!
Just before Sticky Morales came on to do their thing, Helen and Sarah (aka Shantigh) performed a short acoustic song that Helen had written for the occasion...
Thank you Helen and Sarah for the gift of laughter...
I then made a short and vaguely coherent speech thanking everyone for coming and then let Sticky Morales get on with 2 storming sets of dance music. After which the night gets a bit fuzzy...I know I danced a lot, had a few pints of Pedigree and chatted to a lot of people, I even had a few bits of the buffet, and really enjoyed myself. Everyone who was dancing said how good the band were (I already knew, that's why I booked them). At some point round about midnight, most people had headed home, the buffet had been cleared up (any spare food had been passed through to the club members in the other bar), and I was guided into my Dad's car and driven home with a big smile on my face. What a way to celebrate your 50th birthday!
Chris' 60th birthday next weekend and the helicopter ride the weekend after...the fun never stops...
Preparation began early, with little notices put into xmas cards warning people to keep 5th May clear in their diaries.
Being the sort of person I am, a "project plan" was drawn up and spreadsheet created to pull together all the decisions, costs and other info that might be needed. The outline was:
- By end of January - get a venue and a band
- By end of February - get invites printed and posted
- By end of March - confirm numbers with caterers
- By end of April - have house and garden ready for visitors
We eventually decided on the Polish Eagle Club, at the bottom of Sherwood Rise. This was the venue for a friend's birthday party in the autumn of 2011, it had real ale (and the barman promised me Pedigree), it was readily accessible and had two main areas we could use - the bar area for eating, drinking and chatting, and the adjacent hall with stage and dance floor.
The choice of band was easy - I wanted Sticky Morales if they were available - and they were! So we had "Nottingham's premier soul, funk groove machine" sorted.
The catering was straightforward as well, Sonia had used a local firm called Creative Flavours for her birthday a couple of years ago, as well as for some work functions so we knew that they were good quality and could cope with a mixture of vegetarians as well as those of us who eat properly.
The cake maker was a slightly harder choice as there were several available locally. We decided to go with Dinkydoodle Designs as she was local and could make me cake based on licourice allsorts.
My birthday started with a full house, Mum and Dad had arrived on Friday afternoon, and we had collected cousin Rowena (from Australia) from the bus station. We had been out to Mr Mans in Wollaton the night before as my belated treat for Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary. Sonia told me about my present from her as soon as I awoke...a helicopter flight over Nottingham! Wow!
At about 5.30pm Sonia and Dad dropped me off at the venue with the cake while they headed off to collect my aunt Heather from the train. I had my first pint of Pedigree of the evening while chatting to the bar staff and helping "organise" the setting out of the buffet and helped move a couple of bass bins for the band.
The party started at 7pm and the venue filled as family and friends arrived, some bearing gifts (ignoring the "no presents just your presence" request on the invitations) which mainly seemed to involve alcohol...I think that people are trying to tell me something!
Just before Sticky Morales came on to do their thing, Helen and Sarah (aka Shantigh) performed a short acoustic song that Helen had written for the occasion...
(Dedicated Follower of Fashion tune)
They seek him here
They seek him there
His clothes are comfy
And sometimes square
Often seen with beer tankard swinging from his belt
Cos he’s a dedicated swallower of Castle Rock Brewery Real Ales
You’ve read his blog
You’ve seen his pics
A Facebook post
About shifting bricks
Eagerly pursuing that tricky crossword clue
Cos he’s a Guardian cryptic crossword puzzle solver
Oh yes he is.... etc
Eagerly pursuing all the latest union matters
He’s a dedicated Union representative
(Switch to Village Green Preservation Society tune)
We are the Robert Watt appreciation society
God bless ginger beards with hardly a touch of sobriety
We are the Robert Watt appreciation society
We’d sing about Sonia too but it’s not her birthday so sorry!
Verse 1
He sits on the sofa
He listens to tunes
He likes to file LPs on wet afternoons ....... alphabetically!
We are the Robert Watt appreciation society etc
Verse 2
The folk festivals are
An annual event
And if it’s raining
He’ll be in his tent
What else would he do?
Thank you Helen and Sarah for the gift of laughter...
I then made a short and vaguely coherent speech thanking everyone for coming and then let Sticky Morales get on with 2 storming sets of dance music. After which the night gets a bit fuzzy...I know I danced a lot, had a few pints of Pedigree and chatted to a lot of people, I even had a few bits of the buffet, and really enjoyed myself. Everyone who was dancing said how good the band were (I already knew, that's why I booked them). At some point round about midnight, most people had headed home, the buffet had been cleared up (any spare food had been passed through to the club members in the other bar), and I was guided into my Dad's car and driven home with a big smile on my face. What a way to celebrate your 50th birthday!
Chris' 60th birthday next weekend and the helicopter ride the weekend after...the fun never stops...
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